


The Dusk Of Silence

by dasakuryo



Category: DC Extended Universe, Teen Titans - All Media Types, Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:53:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28800135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dasakuryo/pseuds/dasakuryo
Summary: It all starts with an off-hand comment from Garfield.“You should ask her out.”
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Koriand'r
Comments: 11
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For Vanessa N Isaacs, who requested Dick and Kory's first date. Hope you all enjoy the read!

It all starts with an off-hand comment from Garfield.

“You should ask her out.”

Dick took a deep breath to keep himself from frowning at Garfield, and doing so at the case file in front of him instead. He flipped through the pages and sipped at his coffee for good measure, suspecting the boy was likely following his every move. In his mind’s eye, he could see the mixture of hopeful expectancy and tired annoyance taking hold of Garfield’s face.

A grunt and a sigh led him to believe it was actually the latter. He glanced swiftly at the sofa, where Garfield was perched on the armrest, joystick laying on his thighs, scowl on his face. Before averting his gaze, Dick caught a glimpse of Conner’s perplexed face as he alternated between gaping at Garfield and at him.

At the muffled plop that followed, Dick almost let out a sigh of his own, glad that Garfield had decided to drop the subject at his silence tactic. But his relief was short-lived, soon he heard the shuffle of steps approaching. He did not have to look up, the gait was distinctive. Instead, he blew on his coffee, tapping the mug with his forefinger, turning the page with his free hand. He fixed his gaze on the text, wishing he could come across as deeply engrossed in the analysis of the file. The tempo of Garfield's foot tapping on the floor matched that of his finger on the mug.

There was another huff and the tapping quickened on the tiles. Dick was debating whether to brush the whole thing off by asking some oblivious, non-committal question or answer with his usual sarcastic remarks, but the moment he locked eyes with Garfield he immediately changed his mind. He took a sip of his coffee, or rather tried to do so past the sudden tightness of his throat. The restlessness clouding the boy's eyes hid something else other than annoyance. More complex and troubling emotions that often had him staring blankly out of a window or plunged him out of his dreams at night—

If the debacle helped the boy to get his mind off things, then so be it. Dick could play along for a while. Besides, Garfield’s idea wasn't precisely a shot in the dark. He had entertained the very same thought during the past weeks, especially whenever Kory flashed him a smile and all of a sudden it was as if his insides were melting. He had been ignoring the obvious pull between them, however, partly because Kory seemed distant and the last thing he wanted was to impose, if it was her who had decided to keep him at arm’s length—

_“You're leaving now?”_

His throat lumped up at the memory, though remembering Kory’s soft gaze and the weight of her hand on his shoulder were enough to prompt the discomfort to fade away. She had been there for him, even when dealing with issues of her own —issues she hadn’t spoken about, neither to the team nor to him. The tightness returned as soon as the thought crossed his mind. After everything she had done, everything she had risked for the team, for him, and he hadn’t tried to figure out what she was going through.

_“I know that nobody manages alone.”_

He had given her space, respected her distance, and in doing so he had left her to fight her battles alone. Not just her problems, but her grief for Donna as well…

How could have he been so careless?

“Come on, I’m sure it is not going to be that bad,” Garfield’s voice plucked him out of his thoughts. 

Dick gaped slightly at him, his brow furrowing. The roll of Garfield’s eyes in turn made him swallow through the lump in his throat. The boy was perceptive, and apparently his ability at hiding his emotions was starting to get rusty —if not, why else would Garfield have realised he still had feelings for Kory?

“Thanks for the input,” was the only thing he could manage to utter.

Garfield flashed him a smile, "Go somewhere nice."

Dick was tempted to toss the case file at him.

“Are we going somewhere?”

Conner’s sudden question made them both turn. The boy had a huge smile on his face, eyes glistening with anticipation. Heat rose up Dick’s neck, how was he going to explain the nuance? The words were already jumbling in his mind as he thought of a response, uttering it was bound to be a disaster, especially with the way his heart was pounding in his ears.

“Not us, Conner,” Garfield interjected before Dick made a fool of himself. He joined the other teen on the couch and fiddled with his joystick under Conner’s perplexed stare. “Just Dick and Kory.”

Conner’s brow creased even further. He looked at Dick, then at Garfield again, his lips twisting to the side. Dick begged to every deity he had ever heard of the boy did not ask the why behind Garfield’s answer. Something eased in his chest when Conner’s clouded gaze and puckered lips gave way to gleaming eyes and beaming smile again.

“Oh, like a _date_ ,” and at that he turned to Dick, a smile so wide his eyes narrowed. “You two are gonna kiss, right?”

Dick wished there had been a rock big enough for him to crawl under. Damn Garfield and his movie nights, and Hank too for choosing rom-coms. Too bad Rachel wasn’t there to teleport him to the opposite side of the planet —though perhaps he should go with the opposite side of the galaxy, Conner could catch up with him pretty fast.

“Let’s not go into details,” Garfield shuddered, making a face.

“But his heart is racing!” Conner protested, suddenly not interested in the video game anymore and ignoring Garfield waggling the joystick in front of his face. “Is he gonna be sick?”

Why did Rachel have to go, again?

He scurried away to the control room and keyed the door shut behind him. On his way out he still could hear Conner and Garfield arguing, the former worried about Dick getting a heart attack, out of love apparently, and Garfield assuring him that was just a figure of speech. The string of conversation died out behind the swoosh of the door.

He plopped into the cushioned chair and sighed a long, weary exhale. He ran his hand over his face, breathing another sigh into his palm. He fixed his gaze on the huge monitors before him, the incoming messages, the maps, the titillating colourful lights.

Now he had to figure out where to take Kory… on a date. He went through several options and discarded one after another. So engrossed was he trying to think of the best alternative, he didn’t realise Kory had returned from the grocery store with Hank. He actually jumped in his seat at the clanking on the other side of the door.

“Grayson, you there?”

It was Kory.

“We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all have enjoyed the first chapter! I've certainly missed writing my superhero lovebirds, ngl. After going through some serious writer's block last year, COVID blues and work responsibilities certainly didn't help either, getting to write this and posting this story brings me joy, tbh. I wish you all a wonderful 2021! Thank you all so much for reading, your support is heart-warming ♥ Take care and stay safe, you all!
> 
> * * *


	2. Chapter 2

“Hi,” Dick hoped the ripples of nervousness in his throat hadn’t caught on the greeting. “Is everything alright?” he asked, trying to keep the worried frown from etching onto his face.

She flashed him a side smile and nodded, briefly, but enough for her curls to swing over her shoulder. She folded her arms over her chest, her heels clicking on the tiles as she walked forward.

Dick had his suspicions she wasn’t being entirely honest with him, or at least she was keeping things to herself. Even so, he doubted being straightforward about his concerns would be helpful, he had the feeling it would only push Kory further away.

He would wait until she was ready to tell him whatever was bothering her. He hoped the time had come, there was a shadow of shyness on the way she averted his gaze while walking towards him. She leant on the metal desk, just half a metre away from where he was sitting on the chair. His palm itched to bridge the distance and clasp, caress, her arm, but he eventually settled for drumming his fingers on the cold surface of the desk, instead.

Kory uncrossed her arms and started drumming her fingers on the table, too. Biting down on her lip and still somewhat avoiding his gaze, she took a sharp long breath in. He waited. Watching her face tensing, the way her nose bridge slightly wrinkled, the way her eyes clouded, it was unbearable for him. But Dick forced himself to keep his mouth shut, even though he knew something was off --even though his chest ached at her silence, at the sudden rift between them.

“I want,” Kory’s breath caught sharply.

Dick swallowed a sudden dryness from his throat.

“I want,” Kory tried once again, clearing her throat, “to be _back_ on the team,” her expression hardened, something which definitely was not usual. Not for Kory, not when she was talking to him.

Dick could only blink at her, half stunned and half disappointed at the turn of events. Kory folded her arms over her chest again and stared at him, slightly raising an eyebrow. A flicker of emotion in her eyes.

Dick’s face crinkled with concern, and he scraped the back of his neck while thinking of an appropriate response under Kory’s scrutinizing gaze, following his every move. He guessed he had stretched the silence for too long when the click of her heels on the tiles broke through the quietness of the room.

“Kory, you already are on the team,” he replied, his voice as soft as he could muster.

It only got him a loud huff from her.

“Don’t give me that, Grayson,” her voice had taken an unusual sharp edge. “I mean being back on the streets, doing something that _matters_. I want to--”

“But you’re doing something that matters,” he cut in before she had a chance to go on. “You are keeping watch, monitoring, keeping us on the alert for any danger or more trouble than whatever we are already in, Kory.”

Her jaw clenched and Dick noticed.

“You’re keeping us all safe, Kory,” he reminded her. Again. “You are watching our backs.”

The scorn in her eyes quivered at that. He fought down the urge to bridge the distance between them, to reach for her hand, to cradle her face. She heaved out a sigh, folding her arms tighter around herself. She bit her lip and looked down, avoiding his gaze once again. He felt a fluttering of nerves in the pit of his stomach when the seconds stretched, and she kept her eyes fixed on a spot on the floor. She didn’t move, not even as his steps echoed in the silent room.

A shiver ran the length of his spine at the warmth of her skin against his, as he covered her hand with his palm. Her throat bobbed at the glide of his fingers upwards, along her arm. He felt a tightening of her muscles through the fabric of her jacket. He squeezed her arm gently once again.

Finally, their gazes locked. Clouded eyes, slightly quivering mouth, caught breath. There they were again, the signs of her emotional turmoil, the hints there was something eating at her, but her silence reminded her now a wall stood between them.

_“So, that’s your plan? Getting me drunk, so I spill all my secrets?”_

_“I know. Brilliant, right?”_

“Do you want to,” _tell me what’s bothering you_ , but he trailed off at her gaze fixed on his, concern wedging in his throat. “Go grab something tonight?”

Kory’s brow furrowed, a flash of confusion flickering through her eyes. She tilted her head, fixing rebellious curls behind her ear, surprisingly stammering an attempt of an answer. Suddenly Dick was too aware of her exhales fanning across his cheeks.

“I mean, we don’t have to if you don’t feel like it,” he blurted out when Kory fell silent. “I just thought it may help you t--”

He froze when she squeezed his arm and a smile broke through the somberness on his face. A bright smile that reached her eyes, casting away the shadows which had darkened them just moments ago. She tilted her head again, her lips twisting into that familiar cheeky side smile Dick had yearned for for so long.

“I’d love to, Grayson.”

He hadn’t realised he was smiling until Kory laughed, and he noticed the way his cheeks were tensing.

“Never thought you’d ask me on a date.”

His cheeks burned, and by the merriment on Kory’s eyes he could guess his cheeks had taken on the hue of cherries. He cleared his throat and merely nodded. His heart nearly jumped out of his body when Kory’s breath tickled his lips. Before he could process it, she had pressed a quick peck to his mouth and he only managed to watch her as she left the room.

Dick ignored Hank wiggling his eyebrows at him from the doorway. He had a chance now. A chance to try it again with Kory. A chance to help her. And that last thing, above all, was all that mattered to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all have enjoyed the second chapter! The next one will deal with the date itself, as you may have probably been able to guess already 😅 I wanted to show both Kory's turmoil from Dick's perspective, as well as his concern for her. Thank you all so much for reading! ♥

**Author's Note:**

> **  
>  (Updates will be posted every other Saturday.)   
>  **


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